Social Democratic Party of Austria

The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPO) is a social democratic party in Austria that was founded in April 1945, replacing the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (SDAPO). The SPO had ties to the Austrian Trade Union Federation and the Austrian Chamber of Labor, and it became one of the most powerful parties in Austria during the Cold War, as it combined the Marxist elements of the Eastern Bloc with democracy from the Western Bloc. One of the greatest Austrian socialist leaders was SPO Prime Minister Bruno Kreisky, who served from 1970 to 1983. He reduced the mandatory military time from nine to six months, cut the work week to 40 hours, reduced dependence on oil with nuclear power, introduced marriage grants, eliminated discrimination against illegitimate children, sex equality legislation was passed, social security was extended to the self-employed, penal laws were reformed, and encouraged children of working-class families to stay in school. While he was the last of the old socialist generation of the SPO, social democratic successors would follow in his footsteps, and the party was the ruling party in Austria by 2016.